France and Spain order wider evacuations as wildfires intensify

Wildfires intensified again in parts of France and Spain on Saturday, forcing wider evacuations and leaving authorities warning that conditions could worsen overnight.

More than 300,000 people across the two countries had fled, as fires continued in southwestern France and in areas of Spain near Madrid and Toledo. Officials in both countries had earlier said some fires appeared to be easing, but by evening they were ordering more evacuations.

In France, the fire in Gironde, the southwestern department that includes the Bordeaux region, regained strength. Firefighter Captain Nicolas Braz said the blaze had generated its own winds, including whirlwinds, and called it erratic and unmanageable. He said another difficult night was expected.

France had initially evacuated 197,000 people from areas around Bordeaux, while 3,000 were later allowed to return. Late Saturday, another 55,000 people were ordered to leave. Authorities said evacuations from Gironde alone had passed 200,000.

Two French firefighters were killed near Bordeaux earlier in the week. Authorities said fires across France had burned nearly 98,000 hectares, which Interior Minister Laurent Nunez described as a historic record. In the southwest, fires had burned more than 32,000 hectares and destroyed at least 100 buildings, officials said.

France deployed 1,500 soldiers and 1,700 security personnel to support firefighters near Bordeaux. An A400M military transport aircraft joined smaller firefighting planes on Saturday, and firefighters from Paris were sent to reinforce local crews. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said 1,400 firefighters were working against the blazes.

Emergency shelters were opened in schools and gymnasiums in southwestern France for residents and tourists. French President Emmanuel Macron said Saturday that the country would rebuild.

In Spain, authorities ordered new evacuations near Toledo, southwest of Madrid. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said officials were more pessimistic than the previous day and that weather conditions had not helped. He said wind gusts were expected to push the fire south and described the situation as complex.

Earlier Saturday, 60,000 people had been evacuated from villages west of Madrid. At least eight municipalities near Toledo were later ordered to evacuate, though the number of people affected by that order was not clear. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the priority was to save lives.

A separate wildfire near Valencia killed one person Saturday before firefighters brought it under control. Near Madrid, fires had burned up to 25,000 hectares, Spain's interior ministry said. Two of the three main fires in that area had merged, and officials warned they could join with another fire to create a much larger blaze close to the capital.

Spain and France were receiving firefighting aircraft from other European countries through EU support. Spain's Aemet weather agency said satellite images showed smoke clouds from fires in the two countries beginning to connect in the atmosphere.

The fires spread quickly during dry conditions worsened by repeated heatwaves since May. Scientists say global warming is increasing droughts and making extreme weather events more frequent and severe. The final stage of the Tour de France was shortened after France's interior ministry said officers assigned to race security were needed for the wildfire response.